Washington Lawyer - November/December 2021 - 38

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Dan Cantor: Making Justice
Within Reach for Many
By June S. Phillips
W
hile in the hospital
battling COVID, a client
represented by Arnold
& Porter partner Dan
Cantor lost his housing. " The locks
[were] changed in the house in
which he was renting a room. He
got out of the hospital after three
weeks . . . and lived on the street
for a couple of weeks, " Cantor says.
When he heard about his client's
story, Cantor thought, " How could I
not get involved? "
The client had immigrated from South America
and spoke little English. Cantor teamed up
with a fellow law firm partner who speaks
fluent Spanish, and together with co-counsel
from the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, they
obtained a preliminary injunction against the
client's landlord.
On top of his busy practice, Cantor spent more
than 800 hours representing pro bono clients
in 2020 alone. His dedication to individuals
trapped in a legal quandary but who cannot
afford a lawyer was recognized by the D.C. Bar
with its Laura N. Rinaldi Pro Bono Lawyer of the
Year Award in 2021.
A native of Hudson Valley, New York, Cantor
was raised in an environment where community
service was taught at home and at school.
" You learn through others' examples, " he says.
" I point to several things - both of my parents
have been active members in the community
and giving back in various civic/volunteer
ways ever since I was a little kid. It was an early
example for me. It was just what you did as a
member of society. In high school, providing
public service was an integral part of the
culture. " The summer before he graduated
from Bates College, Cantor volunteered at a
homeless shelter in Durham, North Carolina,
where he saw firsthand the immediate needs
of the community.
Cantor earned his JD from American University
Washington College of Law in 1996 and clerked
for Judge Christine O.C. Miller of the U.S. Court
of Federal Claims. After his clerkship, Cantor
started as an associate at Arnold & Porter in
1997, where he has represented clients in
complex litigation and environmental matters
for the last 24 years.
Cantor says the firm's legacy of speaking up for
those who do not have equal access to justice
deeply aligns with his moral vision of giving
back. " One of the first things the firm did
when it opened in the 1940s was to represent
witnesses at the McCarthy hearings, which
probably wasn't a terribly good business
38 WASHINGTON LAWYER * NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
development model at the time, but the firm
really believed in it, " Cantor says. " We were
going to step up and fight to protect constitutional
rights from the beginning. "
In his early years at Arnold & Porter, Cantor
recalls a supervisor wasting little time to explain
the firm's unwritten rules on pro bono service.
" I remember [him] sitting me down and looking
at me very seriously on that first case. He said,
'This case is no different than any other case we
handle at the firm. This is your client; represent
them, do it zealously, spend the money you
need to, and give them the absolute best representation
you can,' " Cantor says.
In his capacity as chair of the firm's Pro Bono
Committee, Cantor reminds young attorneys
about the importance of pro bono work. " I try
to pass on what I have learned to some of our
younger lawyers. We have a special privilege
and responsibility as lawyers, where we can
access a justice system that nonlawyers don't
know how to access on their own, " he says.
Cantor has not shied away from extremely complicated
legal matters, such as his ongoing representation
of more than 150 residents at Arthur
Capper Senior Public Housing in southeast D.C.
who were displaced by a fire in 2018.
In 2020, recognizing the devastating economic
effect of the pandemic on the restaurant
industry, Cantor led a team of more than 100
attorneys from eight of his firm's offices across
the country to help hundreds of workers access
unemployment benefits after losing their jobs
or being furloughed. Arnold & Porter also partnered
with the Legal Aid Society of the District
of Columbia on pro bono unemployment
matters, with Cantor personally representing at
least four clients to appeal the denial of their
unemployment benefits.
Cantor says his passion for pro bono work is
inspired by his family - his wife of 27 years,
Amanda, and their two kids, both in their 20s.
" I'm blessed with a wonderful family. I get a lot
continued on page 40
Courtesy of Dan Cantor
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2021

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